


The Couples' Retreat

by DarcyFarrow



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: #amonthlyrumbelling, A little funny, A little romantic, a little angsty, a work in progress, not hook friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 15:18:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9663269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarcyFarrow/pseuds/DarcyFarrow
Summary: Archie brings the Nolans, Emma and Hook, and the Golds in for a weekend couples' therapy retreat. The Nolans just want to reignite the spark, but Emma and Hook are considering taking their relationship to the next level, and the Golds need a lot of help to mend their broken marriage. For #amonthlyrumbelling. Be forewarned: Not Hook friendly.





	

"May I have your attention?" Archie clasped his hands together in a gesture that was both humble and peace-inspiring, and all six of the guests set down their coffee, tea or cocoa to look up and listen. "I think we're ready to get started. If you'll follow me into the parlor?"

On a little get-away. That was what the couples had told their friends and co-workers: just a little weekend get-away to relax after the hellacious year they'd had. And everyone agreed, from the dwarfs who agreed to take on deputy duty to Ariel and Eric, who volunteered to assist Henry in babysitting Neal, to Regina, who for the next two days would tend the circulation desk (and gods help anyone who dared return a book late).

Nobody had volunteered to keep the pawnshop open, Nobody had given it a thought.

In actually, this was an experiment, as Archie readily admitted. He'd borrowed the concept from a LWM (as the Storybrookers had come to refer to the Land Without Magic) professional journal. He'd studied the literature, took an online crash course, and he felt ready to lead a weekend that, he believed, could help a few of his clients who'd been attending both individual and couples therapy with him. "A couples weekend," he called it. "A chance to learn from one another. And to see that, as different as each of us is, in matters of the heart, we have so much more in common."

And so, after some hemming and hawing from Emma and Rumple, who thought relationship issues should be a private matter, not food for group chatter, they came out to the Sorcerer's Mansion, nestled in a spacious, private lot outside of town and on the edge of Mills Lake. The fresh air and greenery, along with catering by Granny's and maid service, complete with mints on the pillows of the turned-down four-poster beds, put everyone at ease. Almost everyone. Relatively at ease.

They followed the good doctor into the grand parlor, where a cheery fire crackled in the fireplace and plush couches and chairs waited to provide physical comfort so that the guests could concentrate on their emotional discomforts. Archie had even scattered cushions on the floor near the fireplace, should his clients prefer to stretch out. In fact, if things went as he hoped, he planned to suggest they all relax on those cushions, this evening after supper, with the fireplace and candles offering the only light. Sitting on the floor, he'd found, could be a great equalizer.

For now, though, they made use of the furniture, the order of their seating a mirror of the way by which they'd driven to the mansion: Snow and David on the couch, within arm's reach of each other, just as they'd ridden here in David's F150; Hook and Emma on the love seat, their thighs pressed together and his arm draped casually (possessively? Archie wondered) across the back of the seat, almost touching her but granting her a little bit of personal space, much as they'd come here in Emma's cramped Bug. And the Golds (Archie still thought of them that way, had hopes that eventually Belle would take back her married name and her wedding ring; Rumplestiltskin had never taken his off) sat across from one another in wingback chairs, with a coffee table between them and the love seat and the couch on either side.

Archie stood in the middle. "Thank you for coming, for agreeing to take a chance on this experiment. I'm going to ask you to do some hard work this weekend, but I promise you, if you participate fully and honestly, you'll find the results are worth the effort. I have just two ground rules: everything that is said or done here, stays here."

Heads nodded and Hook murmured, "Of course." while David echoed, "Goes without saying."

"The second rule is: tell the truth. You have the right to decline answering any of the questions you feel are too intrusive or harmful, even if they come from me, and if you refuse, no one will challenge you on it. But if you answer, you will answer honestly, not just telling the truth, but answering completely. You have the right to refuse to participate in any of the exercises, no pressure. When you do participate, you'll do so honestly and completely. Do we all agree?" He scanned their faces one by one, seeking a nod or a reply, and when everyone had agreed to his terms, he released a pent-up breath and pulled up a desk chair and seated himself on its edge, clasping his hands on his knees. "Good. Each couple here is at a different stage in their relationship and faces a different set of challenges: rekindling a long-term relationship"-he nodded at the Nolans-"deciding whether to move forward into marriage"-he nodded at Hook and Emma-"or deciding whether to continue the marriage at all." His smile vanished as he glanced to his left, at Belle, and to his right, at Gold. "But I've found that all relationships can benefit from adding new communication tools to their tool belt.

"So let's begin. This is a simple exercise, a warm-up, really; sort of a quick check of communication skills. I want you to stand." He demonstrated. "Face your spouse—or significant other, as the case may be. Yes, that's all right." He walked among them, touching their arms lightly in reassurance. David grabbed both of Snow's hands and winked at her. Emma stuffed her hands into her jeans and cocked her head as Hook bit back a chuckle. "Go on, I dare you," she muttered. As they eyed each other, she blinked first and burst out laughing. Hook reached out to squeeze her elbow and she gave in, linking her fingers through his.

"It's okay to laugh," Archie nodded at them. "I know it feels kind of silly at first, just standing there, looking at each other, so laugh if it makes you comfortable. Touch, if you feel like it." He crossed the room to stand between the Golds, who were neither smiling nor touching; from their body language an outsider would brand them as the couple most likely to fail, but Archie knew them better than that. From the longing in Gold's eyes and the softness in Belle's, he knew they were touching just as much as the Nolans were, just not with their hands. Archie gave them some space, returning to the center of the room.

"All right. I asked some of you to bring a certain something with you, something that has special meaning to you. Would you show those items now, please."

Though she looked a little puzzled, Emma dug her car key from her jeans pocket and dangled it from one finger. Snow brought out a tiara from her shoulder bag and held it in her open palm for all to see. Rumple reached into his suit jacket and produced his dagger, which he held up, but close to his chest, in a tight grip. Knowing its recent history, no one in the room would blame him for being possessive of the knife, though Hook and Emma winced slightly. They visibly relaxed when Gold tilted the knife and they could read his name—not their own—engraved in the blade.

"Did you wonder why I asked you three to bring an object, but I didn't ask your spouses?" Archie continued.

"Because they have magic?" Hook guessed.

"Except for Snow," David corrected.

"You're close. Because of their magic," Archie gestured to Emma and Gold, then to Snow, "or in Snow's case, because she was the queen, they're perceived as the dominant partner-"

"Oh, wait now," Snow protested. "Ours is a marriage of equals. Even in the Enchanted Forest, we ruled together."

"Not exactly," David debated, softening his tone to avoid an argument. "You were the queen; by law and by birth, the final decisions were yours. As they should have been. You knew a whole lot more about governing than I did. I was just a pretender until you married me."

"However it might have actually been between you, you're perceived by the public as, well, just a little bit more powerful than your spouse. Queen, Savior, Dark One." Archie paced between them. "And you have with you an object that sort of reflects your power."

Emma said dryly, "You told me to bring the key to my Bug."

"Because that car is identifiably you," Snow suggested.

"And because it's your ride out of here." There was bitterness in Hook's voice. "You can hop in that car any time you want and take off. Unlike the rest of us. Leave this freak show behind. Leave me."

"Oh." Emma studied the key. "I guess I never thought of it that way." Then she sucked in a breath. "No, that's not true. I have thought about leaving, lots of times. Just not recently. Now that I've got all of you."

Hook kissed her cheek and Archie congratulated her. "Thank you, Emma, for telling the complete truth. Now, those of you who have an object, I want you to hold it up, hold it tight in your grip. And the rest of you, your task is to take that object."

They blinked at him a moment, trying to work out his instructions. He just smiled and looked at his pocket watch. "You have five minutes. Begin."

Hook rubbed his hand on his trousers, his eyes fixed on the prize. "Okay then. Come on, Emma, let's win this thing."

"I don't think it's a contest, Killian," Snow objected.

"Sure it is. Everything in life is." He seized Emma's wrist. "Don't mean to hurt you, love, but I want that key." He pulled her arm toward him, but without a second hand, he couldn't hold her still and pry her fingers open at the same time.

Emma saw the frustration and embarrassment rise in his eyes, and she solved the problem for both of them. "Hey. Over here." She yanked on her captured arm, dragging him a few steps toward the coffee table. "Wrestle you for it." She dropped to the floor on one side of the table. "On your knees, Captain."

"I like how that sounds, love." He knelt on the other side and reached across the table to seize her unoccupied hand. "In fact, tonight when everyone's asleep, I'm going to hold you to it."

For a few minutes, they watched their daughter the princess arm-wrestle a one-armed pirate, then Snow nudged her husband. "Let's not fall behind. Go ahead, Charming, make me give you my tiara."

Uncertain, David cleared his throat. "All right, I, ah. . . .Snow. . . Mary Margaret. . . wife. . . beautiful mother of my child, would you please give me your tiara?"

She folded her arms. "You've got to do a lot better than that."

He proceeded to flattery, cajoling, then outright begging, but her arms remained folded and her face grew bored as his reddened. Finally, he threw his hands in the air. "Aw, come on, Snow! We're supposed to be a team! What happened to togetherness? Cooperation? Sharing?"

She giggled. "You'd look silly in my tiara, David."

"Give it to me!" He thrust his hands on his hips.

"No! It's mine!"

"Snow!"

"No! It's all I have of my mother."

His eyes lit up at the clue. "Ah ha! Well, may I remind you, Your Majesty, that that ring your wearing is all I have left of my mother, yet I gave it to you because that's how much I love you."

Her face softened. "Well. . . ." She unfolded her arms and examined her wedding ring. "I guess it's only fair. . . ."

"I won't keep it, I promise. Just until the end of the exercise. Then I'll give it right back."

"Well. . . ." With a last long look at the tiara, she huffed a little, then presented him with the tiara. Grinning, he held it up for all to see, though actually only Archie was watching; the other couples were busy with their own tasks. David did a little jig around the room with the tiara riding at a tilt on his head.

"David Thomas Nolan!" Snow snapped, bringing his jig to an abrupt halt.

"Sorry, honey," he shrugged, carefully removing the tiara. He held it reverently. "I got carried away because we won."

"Did you?" Archie asked.

"We beat them," Snow pointed at her daughter and the pirate, who were now rolling around on the floor, their arm-wrestling having degenerated into something less organized.

"And them," David pointed at the Golds.

"Did you?" Archie repeated.

"Look at them, just standing there, staring at each other. They haven't even said a word."

"Yes, they have," Archie argued. "You just couldn't hear it."

The Nolans and Archie turned to watch the silent negotiation unfolding before them. As Gold stroked her cheek with his knuckles, Belle's lips parted, and when with a slight touch of a fingertip he brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she sighed, so softly no one could hear it; they only realized she'd sighed by the rise and fall of her chest. When he brushed a thumb over her lower lip, her hands rose reflexively to grasp his biceps through his D & G jacket. When he pressed his unfettered hand against the side of her face, she stood on tiptoe to whisper something in his ear. Archie could almost make out his answer to her: "Yes, sweetheart, for all time, still."

Gold slipped his closed hand between their bodies, then opened it, letting the dagger lay loose in his palm. "As I promised then, I promise now. Whatever happens in our marriage, I am and always will be yours."

She closed his hand around the dagger hilt. "That dagger belongs to you. I was wrong when I took it from you. So wrong when I used it to control you. I won't do it again, not even in a game."

"I used it against you too, and I'm sorry." He pressed his lips to her forehead. "So many things I've done wrong. . . ."

"Even if we can't stay together, I want you to know, I love you." Their joined hands held the dagger between their bodies.

"Whatever happens, I love you too."

She moved their joined hands down and back, until the dagger slipped of its own accord into his outer pocket. They released it together, then her arms flew up around his neck and his slid around her waist and they drew each other in. When they kissed, Snow sighed and David murmured, "She threw him out of town. She started dating other guys. He had a fling with the Evil Queen. And yet, here they are. . . . making out like newlyweds. I don't get them."

"You don't have to," Archie reminded them. "As long as they do."

Panting, Emma suddenly appeared at Snow's side. "I won!" she grinned. "I still have the key." She gestured to the Golds. "What's going on here?"

Smoothing down his ruffled hair, Hook came up on David's side. "They seem to have forgot the assignment. They lose."

"I'm not so sure about that," David replied. "Looks to me like they beat the game."

"Now if they can just conquer themselves," Snow said thoughtfully.

Archie smiled as the Golds' kiss continued. "It's a start. It's a very good start."


End file.
